As evidenced by the nearly ten-year-old ANZ case, in which a judge was recently forced to recuse themselves due to "inappropriate comments," attorneys warn that despite advancements, pregnancy-related workplace discrimination still exists.

Due to health issues associated with her pregnancy, Katherine Bashour, an employee of ANZ, took an early maternity leave in 2014. The bank insisted that she have an internal pelvic examination with a physician of its choosing, even though she had given her employer reports from her obstetrician and blood test results.

Ms Bashour said she was unable to attend the examination because her doctors had advised her to stay at home due to a dangerously low red blood cell count. ANZ then advised Ms Bashour it was taking disciplinary action against her because she had failed to comply with their direction.

Senior Associate in Industrial and Employment Law at Slater and Gordon, El Leverington, said that unfortunately, these types of claims are not uncommon.

“I regularly receive inquiries from women who have experienced various forms of pregnancy discrimination.

“I’ve represented a woman experiencing a severe form of morning sickness who was given an ultimatum by her employer – resign or agree to attend the office every day. This was despite her providing medical certificates for her absences, and after successfully working from home during COVID lockdowns.

“Every time I think we’re making progress there is a new enquiry that reminds me just how far we have to go.

“One of the most confronting enquiries was from a single mum who was told by her CEO that based on his wife’s experience as a working mother (in a completely different industry), the company was not willing to grant her request for a flexible working arrangement to accommodate her return to work when her son was six months old,” Ms Leverington said.

Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace doesn’t always come in the forms that seem the most obvious to an outside party.

Ms Bashour launched a discrimination case against ANZ in the Federal Court in 2014, alleging the bank purposefully overlooked her for promotions due to her pregnancy and had breached her contract by denying her more flexible working arrangements.

“Denying flexible work is another common way workplaces can discriminate against pregnant workers, as is a lack of facilities at some workplaces to enable new mums to express breast milk somewhere other than inside a toilet cubicle.

“This is despite the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984, and state laws prohibiting discrimination for various reasons, including on the basis of pregnancy or potential pregnancy, breastfeeding and family/caring responsibilities.

“People are aware when they’re being discriminated against but often decide to not take action because they’re afraid of losing their jobs by their employer looking for separate and arbitrary reasons to punish them. The risk involved in standing up for themselves is particularly poignant during what is often a vulnerable season of life.

“A large part of my role when assisting clients who have suffered discrimination in the workplace is to manage their relationship with their workplace – to try to achieve genuine understanding and change, or compensation to go some small way toward offsetting the difficulty and distress that such discrimination causes.

“I hope this serves as a stark reminder that employers need to ensure they adequately cater for the needs of pregnant women and then also, when they return to work. We cannot afford to alienate mothers from the workforce,” Ms Leverington said.

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